Water-softening unit

ABSTRACT

A portable water-softening unit which can be attached to any source of water, the unit comprising a housing having an ion exchange chamber and a regeneration chamber, in the fluid circuit between the source of water and an outlet means extending from the housing. The regeneration chamber is adapted to selectively contain regeneration material for regenerating the ion exchange resin when necessary.

United States Patent 1 [1 3,719,594 Borochaner 1 March 6, 1973 541WATERLSQFTENING UNIT 2,627,503 2/1953 Anderson .210/190' 3,204,7679/1965 Borochaner ..2lO/190 [751 lnvemm- 5mm Bmmchane'i Levnmwn,3,385,441 5/1968 Lyall ..2l0/l90 x Assisnee: Nafional waterpureCorporation, 2,467,433 4/1949 King ..210/190 Fall t n,P smg o a PrimaryExaminer-Samih N. Zaharna [22] Filed: June 17, 1971 Attorney-Arthur A.Jacobs 21 A l. N 1 4 9 1 pp 5 2 57 ABSTRACT Related Apphcauon Data Aportable water-softening unit which can be attached [63]Continuation-impart of Ser. No. 852,293, Aug. 22, to y Source of water,the unit o p g a gv 1969,1at. No. 3,680,703. having an ion exchangechamber and a regeneration chamber, in the fluid circuit between thesource of [52] U.S. Cl ..210/l90 water and an outlet means extendingfrom the hous- [51] Int. Cl. ..B0ld 23/10 ing. The regeneration chamberis adapted to selective- [58] Field of Search .210] 190 1y containregeneration material for regenerating the ion exchange resin whennecessary.

[56] References Cited 3 Clalms, 1 Drawing Figure UNITED STATES PATENTS3,016,146 1/1962 Smith et a1. ..2l0/190 /4 L 1 7 20 l I I i 24 I 7 i 28I l ,/6

I /Z5 /2/ I I I a r l 34 l 32 I 36 PATENTED R 1 75 INVENTOR STUARTBOROCHANER ATTORNEY WATER-SOFTENING UNIT This is a continuation-in-partof co-pending application Ser. No. 852,293, filed August 22, 1969, nowU.S. Pat. No. 3,680,703, issued Aug. 1, 1972.

This invention relates to a water-softening unit, and it particularlyrelates to a portable water-softening unit that may be attached to anysource of water.

Ordinary tap water usually contains calcium or magnesium salts as wellas other contaminants which make the water hard." Such hard watergenerally requires the use of synthetic detergents to make the watereffective as a cleansing agent. However, synthetic detergents are notonly environmental pollutants but also are unsatisfactory for manypurposes such as dental work, shampooing of the hair and scalp, and thelike.

Although water softening systems have heretofore been incorporated intomechanisms such as washing machines and the like, it has not,heretofore, been feasible to make a lightweight, portable unit becauseof the necessity of using valves, pumps, automatic timers, etc.

It is, therefore, one object of the present invention to provide awater-softening unit which is free of valves, pumps, timers, etc. andwhich may be easily moved and easily attached to any source of water.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a water-softeningunit of the aforesaid type that is rela tively simple in construction,relatively inexpensive to manufacture and maintain, and easy to service.

Other objects and many of the attendant advantages of this applicationwill be readily appreciated as the same becomes better understood byreference to the following description when read in conjunction with theaccompanying drawings wherein:

The single FIGURE is a somewhat schematic view of a unit embodying thepresent invention.

Referring now in greater detail to the drawing, there is shown awater-softening unit, generally designated 10, comprising a housing 12having a removable cover or lid 14. The housing is shown as generallyrectangular, but it may be of any feasible and desirable shape.Furthermore, although a lid or cover is provided to permit access intothe housing, any other means may be used, such as forming the housingfrom vertical or horizontal sections removably secured together.

The housing 12 is portable and contains therein an ion-exchange chamber16 held between brackets 18. The chamber 16 contains a supply ofion-exchange resin of the standard type for softening water.

A conduit 20 extends from the top of the ionexchange chamber 16 and isconnected by coupling 22 to a spicket 24 positioned outside the housing.A second conduit 26 leads from the bottom of the chamber 16 upwardlyinto a regeneration chamber 28 adapted to hold regeneration fluid forregenerating the ion-exchange resin in the chamber 16 after a period ofuse. The chamber 28 has a removable lid 30 positioned outside thehousing to permit insertion of regenerating material into the chamber28. This regenerating material is preferably granular, such as granularsodium chloride, but may beliquid if desired. Although the lid 30 isillustrated as being a removable screw-cap, it may be a hinged cap or ofany other desirable construction.

A conduit 32 leads from the regeneration chamber 28 and is connected, asat 34, to a flexible hose 36 outside the housing. This hose 36 isconnected, as at 38 to a manifold having a pair of spaced adaptorconduits 40 and 42, each of which is provided with a connector, as at 44and 46, for releasable attachment to respective sources of cold and hotwater, such as the faucets of a sink.

During the operation of the unit, the water, either hot, cold, or amixture thereof, flows through hose 36, through the chamber 28, throughconduit 26, through the ion-exchange chamber 16 through conduit 20 andthrough spicket 24. In the normal flow, the regeneration chamber 28 isempty and the water flows therethrough as through a conduit. This wateris softened by the ion-exchange resin in chamber 16.

When the ion-exchange resin is to be regenerated, however, the granularsodium chloride or other regeneration material is inserted into thechamber 28 and hot water is passed through the system until the brine inthe chamber 28 is completely washed out and passes through the spicket24. The ion-exchange resin is now regenerated and the unit is againready for use.

An important feature of this system is the mounting of the regenerationchamber 28 above chamber 16 and the spicket 24. This permits the waterin chamber 28 to flow therefrom by simple gravity operation. In thisrespect, when the water supply is shut off after use, water remains inthe system until the spicket is again opened. This water fills thechamber 28 and, with the lid 30 in place, the water is under pressure.If the water in chamber 28 were not first permitted to flow therefromprior to addition thereto of new regeneration material, the water wouldoverflow. However, as soon as the lid 30 is opened, atmospheric pressureautomatically acts on the water in the chamber to initiate its flow,under the force of gravity, through the system. This water can thendrain into the chamber 16 or through the chamber 16 and through thespicket 24, if open, to lower the level in the chamber 28 at leastsufficiently to permit insertion of new regeneration material withoutdanger of overflow from the chamber.

I claim:

1. A water-softening unit comprising a housing, an inlet at one end ofsaid housing and an outlet at the opposite end of the housing, saidhousing having a top cover, a regeneration chamber in said housing, theupper portion of said regeneration chamber extending through an aperturein said cover to be accessible from outside said housing, saidregeneration chamber having a filling opening outside said housing and aremovable lid on said filling opening outside said housing, anionexchange chamber within said housing, said ionexchange chamber beingseparate and laterally spaced from said regeneration chamber, saidregeneration chamber being higher than said ion-exchange chamber andbeing connected thereto by a valveless conduit leading from the lowerportion of said regeneration chamber into the lower portion of theion-exchange chamber, an outside conduit means situated outside saidhousing, said outside conduit means connecting said inlet of saidhousing to a source of raw water, a valveless conduit connecting saidinlet to the interior of said regeneration chamber, a softened-waterdispensing means connected to said outlet of said housing outside saidhousing, said outlet and dispensing means being positioned below saidregeneration chamber, and a valveless conduit connecting the upperportion of said ion-exchange chamber to said outlet.

2. The water-softening unit of claim 1 wherein said outside conduitmeans comprises a manifold having a pair of separate conduit arms, eacharm being adapted to be releasably connected to a separate source ofwater. 5

3. The water-softening unit of claim 1 wherein said dispensing means isa spicket extending outwardly from said housing.

1. A water-softening unit comprising a housing, an inlet at one end ofsaid housing and an outlet at the opposite end of the housing, saidhousing having a top cover, a regeneration chamber in said housing, theupper portion of said regeneration chamber extending through an aperturein said cover to be accessible from outside said housing, saidregeneration chamber having a filling opening outside said housing and aremovable lid on said filling opening outside said housing, anion-exchange chamber within said housing, said ion-exchange chamberbeing separate and laterally spaced from said regeneration chamber, saidregeneration chamber being higher than said ion-exchange chamber andbeing connected thereto by a valveless conduit leading from the lowerportion of said regeneration chamber into the lower portion of theion-exchange chamber, an outside conduit means situated outside saidhousing, said outside conduit means connecting said inlet of saidhousing to a source of raw water, a valveless conduit connecting saidinlet to the interior of said regeneration chamber, a softened-waterdispensing means connected to said outlet of said housing outside saidhousing, said outlet and dispensing means being positioned below saidregeneration chamber, and a valveless conduit connecting the upperportion of said ion-exchange chamber to said outlet.
 1. Awater-softening unit comprising a housing, an inlet at one end of saidhousing and an outlet at the opposite end of the housing, said housinghaving a top cover, a regeneration chamber in said housing, the upperportion of said regeneration chamber extending through an aperture insaid cover to be accessible from outside said housing, said regenerationchamber having a filling opening outside said housing and a removablelid on said filling opening outside said housing, an ion-exchangechamber within said housing, said ion-exchange chamber being separateand laterally spaced from said regeneration chamber, said regenerationchamber being higher than said ion-exchange chamber and being connectedthereto by a valveless conduit leading from the lower portion of saidregeneration chamber into the lower portion of the ionexchange chamber,an outside conduit means situated outside said housing, said outsideconduit means connecting said inlet of said housing to a source of rawwater, a valveless conduit connecting said inlet to the interior of saidregeneration chamber, a softened-water dispensing means connected tosaid outlet of said housing outside said housing, said outlet anddispensing means being positioned below said regeneration chamber, and avalveless conduit connecting the upper portion of said ion-exchangechamber to said outlet.
 2. The water-softening unit of claim 1 whereinsaid outside conduit means comprises a manifold having a pair ofseparate conduit arms, each arm being adapted to be releasably connectedto a separate source of water.